Universality of scaling entropy in charged hadron multiplicity distributions at the LHC

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the scaling behavior of the entropy associated with the charged hadron multiplicity distribution P(N) in proton-proton collisions at the LHC. We show that the growth of this entropic indicator as a function of the Bjorken x variable exhibits a universal behavior, consistent with observations from deep inelastic scattering (DIS). This universality suggests that the entropy scaling is a property of the initial state and reflects the diffusive nature of gluon dynamics at small x. Furthermore, we demonstrate that high-multiplicity events are not accurately described by traditional KNO scaling and require a more precise description based on a diffusion scaling framework. This new scaling emerges naturally from the universal growth of partonic entropy and offers a deeper insight into the dynamics of particle production in high-energy hadronic collisions.

Comments: 11 pages, 7 figures. Final version to be published in Physical Review D